Detention conditions

Detention conditions in both military and IPS facilities are extremely harsh, and, as noted, have led to deaths. In addition to Gaza residents detained as “unlawful combatants” since the start of the war, other security detainees and prisoners, adults and minors alike, including persons taken into custody before October 2023, have been subjected to conditions that have been deliberately and significantly worsened since the outbreak of hostilities. As of October 2025, following the prisoner releases as part of the ceasefire agreement, a total of 9,204 prisoners and detainees are held in IPS facilities under all security categories, with hundreds more classified as “unlawful combatants” in military detention facilities.

The deliberate degradation of conditions by the IPS constitutes a violation of legal standards and was implemented without proper authority. Following a series of official inspection visits to IPS facilities, the Public Defender’s Office, a statutory government agency under the Ministry of Justice, issued a warning regarding the severe deterioration in incarceration conditions overall, and for security detainees specifically, categorically describing them “inhumane,” based on the factors detailed below.

For further reading:

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, HaMoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual, Parents Against Child Detention (PACD), Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), Torture as State of Policy: Abuse of Palestinian Detainees in Israel and Absence of Accountability Since October 7, 2023, alternative report submitted to the UN Committee Against Torture in October 2023, ahead of the 83rd Session (November 2025).

Public Defender’s Office, Annual Activity Report, 2024

Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Systematic Violation of Human Rights: The Incarceration Conditions of Palestinians in Israel Since October 7

Starvation

Prisoners and detainees are provided with insufficient amounts of food. The caloric value of the official menu at the Ofer military detention facility is extremely low, about 1,000 calories per day, with only 40 grams of protein. These quantities fall far below the nutritional requirements for the average person, and sustained intake over weeks or months results in persistent hunger, drastic weight loss, and a serious, sometimes irreversible, deterioration in health.

Nutrition for security detainees and prisoners in IPS facilities has also significantly worsened since the war began. A new, reduced food program was adopted under an order from the Minister of National Security. However, according to testimonies collected by HaMoked from dozens of detainees, even this little amount of food is frequently served in insufficient portions, is often spoiled or undercooked, and in some cases a single portion is divided among eight to 10 detainees, including minors. Detainees reported severe hardship due to daily hunger, as well as significant weight loss. There have been documented cases in which food deprivation led to serious health declines and even death.

In September 2025, the HCJ accepted a petition filed by ACRI and Gisha, ruling that the IPS is legally required to provide security prisoners and detainees with basic living conditions, including food of sufficient quantity and composition to preserve their health. The majority opinion found cause for concern that the current supply of food fails to meet the legal standard, and accordingly, the judgment clarified the state’s obligations and set out a series of measures the IPS must adopt.

Following the judgment, the petitioning organizations requested the IPS report on measures taken to implement the ruling. In a response dated October 15, 2025, legal counsel for the IPS stated that the judgment would be implemented “in accordance with instructions from government level officials” and claimed that sufficient food had been provided to prisoners even before the judgment. The response further stated that a committee of officers would be established to address the issue. The organizations continue to monitor developments, both on the ground and in legal proceedings.

For further reading, see:

Association for Civil Rights in Israel, End the Policy of Starving Security Prisoners

Withholding medical care

Sde Teiman

Testimonies by physicians and released detainees indicate that there have been numerous cases of significant harm and deaths at the Sde Teiman military detention facility. As detailed in last year’s State of the Occupation report, and in an ethical opinion released by PHRI, in the early months of the war, thousands of Gazan detainees were held at Sde Teiman in particularly harsh and degrading conditions. Violence, inhumane conditions, and lack of adequate medical care resulted, among other effects, in dozens of cases of irreversible physical harm, including amputations from untreated injuries or from prolonged and excessively tight cuffing leading to necrosis. Medical examinations were conducted anonymously; documentation of suspected violence or torture was not required; medical procedures were frequently delayed, conducted without adequate equipment or necessary medications, and sometimes even without anesthesia. Detainees were treated while shackled at the hands and feet, blindfolded, and in diapers.

In a petition filed by ACRI, PHRI, HaMoked, PCATI, and Gisha, the petitioners demanded the closure of Sde Teiman due to inhuman treatment and the grave violation of detainees’ rights under Israeli and international law. In September 2024, the HCJ ruled that the state must operate Sde Teiman in accordance with the Unlawful Combatants Law and its regulations, so long as they remain legally in force, and that any future changes must comply with international law. Subsequently, conditions improved somewhat, in part due to a significant reduction in the facility’s population. However, harsh incarceration conditions were documented in other military detention facilities as well, including the lack of adequate medical care, contravening the HCJ ruling in the Sde Teiman case.

Deterioration in medical care in IPS facilities

Deliberate withholding of medical care has also been documented in IPS facilities since the outbreak of the war and the October 2023 declaration of an incarceration emergency. Evidence points to untreated injuries and chronic illnesses, cases of malnutrition and significant weight loss, delays or failures in referring detainees for laboratory tests or specialist consultations. This medical neglect has directly contributed to the sharp increase in deaths among detainees, as described above.

A stark example of this neglect has been the scabies epidemic in numerous IPS prisons as well as in military facilities, which has spread due to extreme overcrowding and inadequate hygiene conditions. Detainee testimonies reveal that no pharmacological treatment was provided, despite its availability and the extreme distress caused by the condition.

In July 2024, five human rights organizations, PHRI, HaMoked, ACRI, Adalah, and PCATI, filed a petition concerning the lack of treatment. Accepting the state’s assurance that the matter is being addressed, the HCJ dismissed the petition, despite direct evidence to the contrary from detention facilities.

For further reading: The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, HaMoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual, Parents Against Child Detention (PACD), Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), Torture as State of Policy: Abuse of Palestinian Detainees in Israel and Absence of Accountability Since October 7, 2023, alternative report submitted to the UN Committee Against Torture in October 2023, ahead of the 83rd Session (November 2025)

Overcrowding

Since the onset of the war, overcrowding in Israeli prisons has markedly intensified. In addition to detainees from Gaza, thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank have been detained, most of them for entering Israel illegally. With prison capacity stretched, an “incarceration emergency” was officially declared, and a temporary order was passed permitting the IPS to increase occupancy to a standard of less than 3 square meters per person, sometimes with no bed. In November 2024, 94% of security prisoners and detainees were reportedly held in conditions that fail to meet HCJ rulings on minimum living standards. The severe overcrowding has contributed, among other things, to the outbreak of the scabies epidemic.

In October 2023, ACRI, PHRI, and PCATI filed a High Court petition seeking to revoke the emergency order permitting prison administrators to have detainees sleep on the floor and maintain unlimited overcrowding during the incarceration emergency. The petition cited previous judgments affirming that violating prisoners’ dignity harms not only the prisoners but also undermines the character of society as a whole, and that detention in inhumane conditions constitutes cruel punishment, prohibited under the Convention Against Torture. The petition was dismissed without a response from the state, and the petitioners were ordered to pay costs. The court noted, among other things, that the temporary order was in place for a relatively short duration and the emergency was expected to stabilize. However, two years later, most recently on September 15, 2025, the state continues to extend the order allowing major overcrowding for detainees.

As a further step to address this issue, an older petition on this issue, which remains pending before the HCJ, was updated by human rights organizations to demand a solution to the acute crisis. The hearing has been repeatedly postponed at the state’s request, while the overcrowding persists.

For further reading:

Public Defender’s Office, Annual Activity Report, 2024

ACRI, Detaining Prisoners in Overcrowded Conditions Without Beds During a State of Emergency in Detention